Members can register for winter quarter classes starting at 10:30 am today, Dec. 5! General public registration opens Dec. 12. Explore classes » 

Building Characters from Real Life

Genres: Nonfiction

In Person

Open to all levels

1 Session

Start Date: November 19, 2022
End Date: November 19, 2022
Day of Week: Saturday
Time: 10:00am - 1:00pm PT
Capacity: 15 seats
1 seat left!
Member Price: $81.00
General Price: $90.00

Characters breathe life into a story, turning an abstract idea into a vivid representation of human experience. In nonfiction, writers build characters from the raw and messy material of real life. In this class, we’ll talk about techniques for rendering yourself and others as characters through scenes, dialog, and telling details. We’ll explore strategies from nonfiction, memoir, and journalism for researching and digging deeply into the thoughts, habits, manners, quirks, and substance of your characters.

FLASH SALE HAPPENING NOW: $10.00 off immediately applied at check out!

Registration dates:

August 22: Scholarship Donation Day (Learn more.)

August 23: Member registration opens

August 30: General registration opens

Madeline Ostrander

Madeline Ostrander

she/her

Madeline Ostrander is an environmental journalist, nonfiction writer, and author of At Home on an Unruly Planet. The former senior editor of YES! Magazine, her work has appeared in the NewYorker.com, The Nation, Sierra Magazine, and numerous other outlets.

Hugo House will only process refund requests that are submitted 5 business days or more before the class start date. To request a refund, log in to your account, go to “My Account,” select the “Orders” tab on the left-hand side, click the appropriate order, and request a refund for your specific class. Administrative fees apply. Please see our full refund policy here.

Class sessions may be recorded if a session falls on a holiday, or if a student has access needs. Class recordings are not guaranteed.

We do not tolerate racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, transphobic or any other oppressive behaviors, regardless of who commits them. Please check out our full community guidelines by clicking here. If an instance of community guidelines are violated and not resolved within the classroom, students may let us know by filling out the student incident report.

Classes may be cancelled if less than 5 students are enrolled within 10 days before the class start date. If for any reason Hugo House needs to cancel a class, students can choose between a full credit or full refund.

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